Could my problem be bad RAM?

[jdporter08]

Hello,

So, I seem to have a smorgasbord of problems with my PC that started happening quite rapidly. The first thing that started happening was the PC would crash for no apparent reason while in normal, everyday use (browsing, e-mail, etc...). Then I had an AVG update and after the PC rebooted, it kept sticking at a certain spot and not letting me boot Windows, though sometimes I could restart the system a few times and it would finally boot.

Now, however, it won't boot at all (even in safe mode) and it still sticks when loading the AVG files (specifically avgidseh.sys). For a while I could get windows to start to boot, but it would freeze, but now I can't even get the machine to load anything.

I've tried using tools like the AVG Rescue Disk and even tried loading Ubuntu from my DVD drive, but it wouldn't boot, either.

My system specs:

Cyberpower PC
Windows 7 Pro 64-bit
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 @ 3.16GHz
4 GB DDR2 RAM (Corsair or Major Brand)
500 GB HDD 7200RPM
MSI G31M-F mobo
Galaxy GTS 450 Video Card

If any additional info is needed, please let me know.

Thanks for the read.

 

[blacknemesist]

Easiest way to see is by running a memory test:

Memory test

If all goes well and no problems are reported then the GPU could be the problem.To rule GPU out you need to test with another GPU.Note that those crashes could be memory and GPU problems so run the memory test first and if damaged remove the damaged stick and try booting followed by running a GPU benchmark.

 

[dextermat]

Hi,

Get a windows installation disk and try recovery console repair, I would also try a chkdsk.

It could be ram, HD, psu, AVG, (I find it's kinna crumy with updates, uninstall. I got thoses kind of problems with computers ==> so I uninstalled) virus / malware

What version of avg where you using ?

You can download memtest86 iso to test your memory.

If you can repair windows and get into it you can download hard disk sentinel trial to check HD health.

Good luck

 

[jdporter08]

Easiest way to see is by running a memory test:

Memory test

If all goes well and no problems are reported then the GPU could be the problem.To rule GPU out you need to test with another GPU.Note that those crashes could be memory and GPU problems so run the memory test first and if damaged remove the damaged stick and try booting followed by running a GPU benchmark.

It has been a while since I have tried working on it, but I remember testing the memory with the option that comes up on the BIOS splash screen ( I think that was the screen, anyway) but couldn't really make heads or tails of it. What if I tried to boot the PC with each RAM stick individually, then if no change try an old (known-good) video card?

Thanks for the quick response.

 

[jdporter08]

Hi,

Get a windows installation disk and try recovery console repair, I would also try a chkdsk.

It could be ram, HD, psu, AVG, (I find it's kinna crumy with updates, uninstall. I got thoses kind of problems with computers ==> so I uninstalled) virus / malware

What version of avg where you using ?

You can download memtest86 iso to test your memory.

If you can repair windows and get into it you can download hard disk sentinel trial to check HD health.

Good luck

I have my Windows 7 install disk, but I didn't know if there were any recovery tools on it. I will try that.

I hope it is something easy to fix like RAM or a power supply. If I can find out what the problem is, then I will know if I can fix it or if I will have to take it somewhere.

Hmm. It has been a couple of months since this has happened, but I know it was the latest version. I did regular updates and scans at least once a week. If I can get it going again, though, I think I'll be uninstalling AVG and just continue to use Malwarebytes as I've never had any problems with it and it has always caught anything that came by it.

I remember trying to use the AVG Rescue CD which I believe had Memtest86 built in, but the program would always freeze. I tried booting the program from a disk and a flash drive both, but neither worked.

Thanks for your quick response.